Senator James Donovan is best known for his 14-year service as chairman of the Senate Education Committee of New York. However, James Donovan had many other roles as well, including chairman of both the Committee on Roads and Public Works, and the Committee on Mental Hygiene and Addiction Control. During his time as senator, Donovan also worked to reduce teenage pregnancy and promote literacy in teens throughout New York.
When he passed away at the age of 66, it was described as a “tremendous loss,” and the governor of New York added that Donovan’s “courageous struggle to overcome his illness served as an inspiration to us all.”